Civil

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Responsibilities

This division is under the direction of Sergeant Chris Kobylanski with assistance from Deputy John Button and Civil Clerk Kelly Langdon. This division is responsible for the service and enforcement of all civil process. Civil process includes serving many different types of papers and Court process including divorce papers, lawsuit papers, eviction paperwork, etc., as well as enforcing the resulting money judgments, wage garnishments (income executions), court ordered warrants of eviction, and other types of seizures. The officers in the Civil Division are road patrol officers assigned in the Civil Division.

In addition to their Civil duties, these Officers also handle criminal complaints such as assisting the road patrol division, handling motor vehicle accidents, etc. The civil realm is a highly specialized field as well as a busy one. This division collects about $450,000 annually which generates about $50,000 in fees and poundage to the County. While the Civil Division strives to do the best job possible and help the public in any way we can, we are unable to give legal advice. Any legal questions should be directed to a qualified attorney.

Evictions

The civil office handles many evictions throughout the year. The fee for service of eviction paperwork can be found in the Fee Schedule (PDF). The Sheriff of the County (or Marshall) is the only entity that can serve and enforce an Eviction Warrant. Once the Warrant of Eviction is served the property will be checked after the required time frame has expired. If it is found that the tenant(s) are still holding the property, the landlord (property owner) will be contacted and arrangements will be made for their removal. These arrangements include insured movers and public storage to move the personal property to.

The policy of the Sheriff’s Office requires 30 days of public storage be prepaid. (All costs of the removal can be proven in court and a money judgment obtained for their repayment from the tenant(s)). The Officers from the Civil Division will stand by at the time of removal as a peace keeper. The law provides that an eviction removal can only be performed from sun up to sun down. If it is a large removal and will require more than one day, any costs for the officer(s) time for the second and subsequent day(s) will be billed to the landlord. Eviction forms can be obtained from the following website maintained by the State of New York.